F is for the Fates

I'm almost caught up! We'll see if I can pull this off with another post tonight and I can be back on schedule after tomorrow. This story is a direct follow-up to the last one, just starting the next scene from a slightly different perspective...


His body was young and chiseled, but his withered face and platinum white beard betrayed his age. The whiskers on his face sparked with blue electricity, and his eyes were glowing grey like storm clouds. He sat in the throne at the end of the hall that was built onto the top of the unclimbable Mount Olympus. The hall was lined with five chairs on either side and another across from where Zeus sat. Thunder shook the hall and he rose from his seat to greet his guests.



The sun flared brighter suddenly, and a screeching falcon made of fire rode down a ray of light and landed forcefully on the floor of the hall. It stood up and from the flames formed a man with a falcon's head. A bright orb of light ignited behind his head and floated there, like his own personal sun. Ra, the greatest of all the gods of Egypt, turned to Zeus, nodded his head in greeting and took his seat.

As Ra sat, two ravens, black as a starless night, perched themselves on the back of one of the thrones. Then, as if forming out of the air itself, an enormous hulk of a man began to form. He had a pointed hat like that of a witch, a large staff made of the finest oak, and wore a green tattered vest and shorts. One of his eyes was cloaked in shadow, while the other glowed with golden light.

As Odin finally became fully solid, an unassuming Japanese man carrying a bladed spear climbed up to the top of the mountain. He stood quietly and entered the hall, and Izanagi of Japan took a seat next to Ra.

Lastly, stepping out from between the seconds, was Coatlicue. Her face was both two snakes and one, and her body was made of hands. She had long, sharp talons for fingers, a skirt made of serpents, and all of her features were never quite the same between moments.

"Welcome, most revered of All-Mothers and All-Fathers," Zeus thundered. "I, Zeus to be Jupiter, welcome you to Olympus.

"I'm sure you all know each other, but for the sake of formality, introductions are in order. From the Africa in the south, Ra, sun god of Egypt. From Asia in the east, Izanagi, creator of Japan. From Europe in the north, Odin, the King of Asgard, patron of the Norse. And, from the Americas in the west, Coatlicue, undifferentiated mother of the Aztec.

"I chose you because you are the greatest of your continents. I ask you to come here to form the Council of the Gods. I propose we forge an alliance between us to protect not only ourselves, but Earth as well, should ever problems arise that become to great for any one of us to handle alone."

"Ha!" Odin roared in laughter. "What problem could be too big for the warriors of Asgard to handle?"

"Many a scenario that I can think of, Odin. What if Hela and Hades and Anubis threw open their gates upon your shining city, and you were overrun with the dead? I ask for this alliance as a preemptive measure, for what if the gods of evil have the same idea?"

"A compelling argument, skyfather," Odin admitted. "I shall agree to your alliance."

"Agreed," hissed Coatlicue bluntly.

"I also agree," said Izanagi.

"And I shall make it unanimous," Ra finished.

"I am glad to hear it, my friends. We shall meet again soon to discuss our future together."

In the same glorious ways they had entered, the gods left the hall of Olympus, leaving Zeus sitting alone but content. After a few minutes, he stood to leave, but at that moment, three old crones emerged from behind the throne at the other end of the hall. They each were hunched and wore dark cloaks that cast shadows across their haggard faces. Between the three of them, they shared a mess of yarn and string that they wove furiously into something as they walked. It couldn't be told what it was they were making, but Zeus knew that he should hope they never finished.

"Greetings, Fates," said Zeus. "What occasion is it that I get a visit from the daughters of Erebus?"

"You've doomed thine self, wielder of lightning," growled Atropos.

"One day soon, you and all of Olympus shall fall from grace," continued Lachesis.

"An it shall be your alliance that casts you down," ended Clotho.

"Sisters, what do you me--" Zeus began to ask, but it was too late. As silently as they had come, they were gone, and Zeus was once more alone.